Frisian languages
group of Germanic languages
Frisian refers to three languages that come from Friesland, a province in the Netherlands. They are spoken in the Netherlands, in Eastern Germany, and in some areas of Jutland, Denmark. It is also spoken on the Frisian Isles (Wadden Isles) and Western German (East Frisian) Isles such as Borkum.
| Frisian | |
|---|---|
| Frysk | |
 | |
| Native to | Netherlands, Germany |
| Region | Friesland, Groningen, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein |
| Ethnicity | Frisians |
Native speakers | 480,000 (ca. 2001 census)[1] |
Early forms | |
| Dialects | |
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Netherlands Germany |
| Regulated by | NL: Fryske Akademy D: no official regulation unofficial: the Seelter Buund (for Sater Frisian), the Nordfriisk Instituut (for North Frisian) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:fry – West Frisianfrr – North Frisianstq – Saterland Frisian |
| Glottolog | fris1239 |
| Linguasphere | 52-ACA |
 Present-day distribution of the Frisian languages in Europe:
| |
They are West Germanic languages that are related to Dutch and are also the closest living languages to English. All of them have been spoken since Roman times.
The Frisian languages are:
| language | wordlist | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten |
| West Frisian | ien | twa | trije | fjouwer | fiif | seis | sân | aacht | njoggen | tsien |
| North Frisian | ian | tau | trii | fjauer | fiiw | sääks | sööwen | aacht | njugen | tiin |
| Saterland Frisian | aan | two | trio | fjauer | fieuw | sääks | soogen | oachte | njuugen | tjoon |
| English | West Frisian | Sarerland Frisian | North Frisian |
| Flensburg | Flensburch | Flensbuurich | Flensborag |
References
change- ↑ West Frisian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
North Frisian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
Saterland Frisian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
